JP2002058054A - Method for notifying presence of mobile communication terminal in neighborhood - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for notifying presence of a mobile communication terminal in the neighborhood by which a user can know easily and immediately whether or not a certain person exists near the user. SOLUTION: Position information of a mobile communication terminal registered in a network of a common carrier Y is utilized to determine whether or not a mobile communication terminal P, Q or R having a telephone number of a third party registered by the user exists within the same area, as that of a cell C1 where the user presently exists, and the user is notified of the result.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for determining whether a specific third party having a portable communication terminal is in the vicinity of a user and whether the specific third party has moved into or out of the same area as the user. The present invention relates to the provision of a method of notifying the nearby presence of a mobile communication terminal that a user can know.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, portable communication terminals such as portable telephones and PHS are becoming one by one, and are widely used as personal communication tools. To know whether a third party is nearby or not, As shown in FIG. 5 which explains the prior art, there is a method of confirming by calling and sending / receiving an e-mail to a portable communication terminal of each third party.

[0003] In this method, a user uses a portable communication terminal X owned by the user to talk to each of the portable communication terminals P, Q, and R of a third party who wants to know whether or not the user is present near the user, and to send an e-mail. This is a method of confirming each other one by one by transmitting and receiving data. In the figure, the arrows indicate the communication process from the user's mobile communication terminal X to the third party's mobile communication terminals P, Q, R. The broken lines indicate the respective mobile communication terminals P, Q, R, X as needed. This indicates that the location information is notified to the communication carrier Y via the base stations c1 and c2 according to the regulations.

[0004]

However, this method requires a great deal of labor and time, and has great limitations. For example, if urgent support is urgently needed at work, it is necessary to contact each person individually with their own mobile communication terminals to determine whether or not they are in the vicinity. It is necessary to check if there is no indication of an incoming call because a third party uses the manner button of the mobile communication terminal or turns off the power even if it is near. However, this method has a problem because a third party can never know that a call has been received.

[0005] Further, when a criminal carrying a mobile communication terminal is confused, it is impossible to use this method in order for an investigator to know at any time whether or not the criminal is hiding in the vicinity during a pursuit search.

[0006] In this respect, in the PHS, although there is a small number of services for notifying location information, a portable communication terminal which has only a small display due to portability and is combined with map information can sufficiently enjoy the service. Can not.

Here, the main objects to be solved by the present invention are as follows. A first object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method that allows a user to know that a specific person is near the user.

[0008] A second object of the present invention is to provide a portable communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method that allows a user to know that a specific person has moved into and out of the same area as the user.

A third object of the present invention is to provide various services by notifying the registered person of the portable communication terminal that a person possessing the portable communication terminal of the registered telephone number exists nearby. To provide a mobile communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the specification, drawings, and particularly from the claims.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the method of the present invention uses a location information of a mobile communication terminal set and registered according to a predetermined procedure in a network of a communication carrier to meet a user request. In response, the third-party mobile communication terminal whose telephone number has been registered by the user responds to the user by determining whether it is in the same area as the cell in which the user is currently located, and responding to the user. When the user enters or exits the area, a response to the user is taken.

More specifically, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has been made to achieve the above object by adopting the following novel characteristic configuration method.

A first feature of the method of the present invention is that, by utilizing the location information of a mobile communication terminal which is set and registered in accordance with a predetermined procedure in a network of a communication carrier, the user can enter a telephone number in response to a request from the user. The present invention resides in the adoption of a mobile communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method in which a registered third party mobile communication terminal determines whether or not it is present in the same area as a cell in which a user currently exists, and responds to the user.

A second feature of the method of the present invention is that, by using the location information of the mobile communication terminal set and registered in accordance with a predetermined procedure in the network of the communication carrier, the user can enter the telephone number in response to the user's request. When a registered third-party mobile communication terminal enters and exits the same area as the cell where the user is currently located, the mobile communication terminal responds to the user when it enters or exits. is there.

[0015] A third feature of the method of the present invention is that, in the first or second feature of the method of the present invention, the communication carrier is different from that of the user and the third party. Another aspect of the present invention resides in the adoption of a configuration of a method for notifying the nearby presence of a mobile communication terminal by exchanging location information and necessary information between communication carriers.

A fourth feature of the method of the present invention is that the request in the first, second or third feature of the above-mentioned method of the present invention is such that the user transmits a request from a mobile communication terminal currently possessed to a communication carrier. The present invention resides in the adoption of a configuration of a method for notifying the nearby presence of a mobile communication terminal, which is performed after any of the telephone numbers registered, canceled, or changed for the registered telephone number.

A fifth feature of the method of the present invention is that the request in the fourth feature of the method of the present invention is performed by registering the telephone number at the time of actually making the request. It consists in adopting the configuration of the method.

According to a sixth feature of the method of the present invention, when the request in the fourth feature of the present invention uses the telephone number registration made at the time of the previous request, the telephone number registration is performed again. The present invention lies in the adoption of a configuration of a method for notifying the nearby presence of a mobile communication terminal, which is performed without any method.

A seventh feature of the method of the present invention is that the request in the fourth, fifth or sixth feature of the method of the present invention is registered at a predetermined location in the network by the telephone number registration. The present invention resides in adopting a configuration of a portable communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method which is performed after confirming a telephone number.

An eighth feature of the method of the present invention resides in that the portable communication terminal receiving the reply in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh feature of the above-described method of the present invention. By using the telephone directory function built into the mobile communication terminal, the content of the reply is displayed with the name of the third party and the content of the reply is displayed to notify the user, and the configuration of the mobile communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method is adopted. is there.

A ninth feature of the method of the present invention is that the telephone number registration and request in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth features of the above method of the present invention. However, the present invention employs a configuration of a mobile communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method which is performed using a telephone directory function built in the mobile communication terminal.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Method 1 Inquiry Notification) FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining Method 1 as an embodiment of the present invention.
The figure shows that the user uses the portable communication terminal X possessed by the user,
It is assumed that a third party possessing the mobile communication terminals P, Q, and R knows whether or not it is nearby. The base stations c1 and c2, the cells C1 and C2, and the communication carrier Y are the same as before, except for those described below.

First, the user of the portable communication terminal X sends an inquiry M1 as to whether or not a third party is in the vicinity of the third party by a communication carrier (fixed station, other names are also acceptable) that controls and manages the base station c. Perform for Y.

In this inquiry transmission, the user registers the telephone number of the third party's mobile communication terminal with his / her own mobile communication terminal X in advance, registers it with the communication company Y, and sends the inquiry transmission. In such a case, the mobile phone may be configured to simply transmit an instruction to make an inquiry without transmitting the telephone number of the third party mobile communication terminal to the communication carrier, An instruction to register the telephone number of the third party's mobile communication terminal with terminal X, and to inquire with the third party's telephone number by a simple operation such as pressing a button of mobile communication terminal X May be transmitted, or other methods may be used.

Next, the telecommunications carrier Y, which has received the inquiry from the user, sends the inquired telephone to the same radio base station (possibly in the same telephone base station of another telecommunications carrier performing the interconnection). Whether or not the number is registered at a predetermined location, that is, the mobile communication terminals P, Q, and R are in the same cell as the cell C1 in which the same radio base station, that is, the mobile communication terminal X is located (or in the same cell). It is determined based on whether it is in the same area as another communication carrier that makes the connection).

Then, the result M2 of this determination is transmitted to the portable communication terminal X, and based on the result of the determination, for example, "P and Q are near" is displayed on the portable communication terminal X. To inform the user. Thereby, the user can easily and instantly know whether or not a large number of portable communication terminals are present without using a special additional device.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining method example 2 which is one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the user uses the mobile communication terminal X owned by the user, and a third party having the mobile communication terminals P, Q, and R enters and exits the same area as the cell where the user is located. It is assumed that you know what. And the base stations c1, c
2. The cells C1 and C2 and the telecommunications carrier Y are the same as before, except as described below.

First, the user carrying the portable communication terminal X sends an occasional notification request M3 for asking the third party to notify the cell C1 (or the same area) in which the user is present that entry / exit is present, at any time, Perform to the telecommunications carrier (fixed station, other names are also possible) Y that controls and manages the base station c1,
The telecommunications carrier Y requests the mobile communication terminals P, Q,
The telephone number of R is stored.

[0030] The occasional notification request is issued by the user in advance by registering the telephone number of the third party's portable communication terminal with his / her own portable communication terminal X and registering it with the communication company Y. At the time of the request, it may be configured to simply transmit an instruction regarding the start of the notification at any time without transmitting the telephone number of the third-party mobile communication terminal to the communication carrier, Register the phone number of the third party's mobile communication terminal for the mobile communication terminal X, and notify the mobile communication terminal X with the third party's phone number at any time by simple operation such as pressing the button of the mobile communication terminal X May be transmitted.

Next, as a result of the third party moving from the cell C2 to the cell C1, the third party's mobile communication terminal Q enters the cell C1, and the mobile communication terminal Q has been located through the base station c2. The fact that the notification of the information to the communication carrier Y causes the notification of the location information to the communication carrier Y via the base station c1, and the location of the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal Q is changed to the cell C2. Is canceled, and the location information registration for the location registration where the location of the telephone number is the cell C1 is performed. Note that this position information may have another configuration.

Then, when the location information of the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal Q is registered at a predetermined location of the communication carrier Y, the mobile communication terminal Q is connected to the mobile communication terminal X by the user. Movement notification M4 indicating that it has entered an existing cell
Is performed by the communication carrier Y, and the user is notified by, for example, displaying “Q has come close” on the mobile communication terminal X.

Note that the mobile communication terminal whose telephone number has been registered is
When leaving the same cell C1 as the user, a notification request M3 is made at any time in the same manner, and then, as a result of the third party moving from the cell C1 to the cell C2, the portable communication terminal of the third party is changed to the cell C2. The mobile communication terminal has been connected to the base station c
The fact that the location information has been notified to the communication carrier Y via No. 1 is transmitted to the communication carrier Y via the base station c2.

With this as a trigger, the registration that the telephone number of the portable communication terminal is located in the cell C1 is released, and the cell C2 is released.
Location registration, which is the location registration of the mobile communication terminal X, is performed, and when the location information is registered at the predetermined location of the communication carrier Y of the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal, the mobile communication terminal X Then, the communication carrier Y issues a movement notification indicating that the mobile communication terminal Q has left the cell where the user is located, and displays, for example, "Q is away" on the mobile communication terminal X. Inform

Thus, the user can easily and instantly know the movement of a large number of portable communication terminals without using any special additional device.

It is preferable that the above-mentioned method examples 1 and 2 can be used properly according to the usage form of the user. Further, in both the method example 1 and the method example 2, the base station does not need to be the same communication carrier. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, the base station is interconnected with the base station c1 of the XX communication carrier. The base station c′1 of another communication carrier (△△ communication carrier) is treated as the same area, and the base station is treated as a radio base station conforming to the same area of the other communication carrier to be interconnected. Is also good.

In this case, it goes without saying that positional information and necessary information of each portable communication terminal are mutually exchanged. Note that, in the figure, broken-line arrows indicate base stations c of the position information.
1, the notification to c'1 is indicated by the arrow on the left end of the mobile communication terminal Q.
Indicates movement.

Hereinafter, the sequence between the mobile communication terminal X and the communication carrier Y will be generally described with reference to FIG. 4, but the “communication carrier” in FIG. Although not shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. 3, there is a case in which location information is mutually exchanged with a communication carrier different from the contracted communication carrier. The following description is based on the same carrier.

First, a user registers a telephone number (referred to as a registered telephone number) that he or she wants to inquire of a telecommunications carrier or to be notified of at any time using his or her portable communication terminal X (SX1). At this time, the user inputs a registered telephone number and transmits the input telephone number to the communication carrier Y to register. For example, this is performed by pressing a number composed of “(service number) + (registration number which is an instruction to register a telephone number) + (phone number to be inquired)”.

At this time, by using a telephone directory function or the like built in the portable communication terminal X, it is possible to select and specify (a plurality of selections are possible) from the telephone numbers (names) already set in the portable communication terminal. It may be performed by pressing a number indicating registration. It is to be noted that registration such as registration cancellation or registration cancellation can be performed using the same operation.

By the user's operation SX1 of the portable communication terminal X, the communication carrier Y receives the registered telephone number and registers it at a predetermined position (exchange, etc.) on the network (SY).
1).

Next, the user gives an instruction to confirm whether or not the registration is surely made by a predetermined button of the portable communication terminal X (for example, “(service number) + (registration confirmation number for instructing to confirm registration)”). (SX2).

The communication carrier receives a registration confirmation instruction by SX2 and replies with the registered telephone number (SY).
2). As a result, at least the answered telephone number is displayed on the user's mobile communication terminal X, and the name of the telephone number is also displayed using the built-in telephone directory function as shown in FIG. It is desirable.

Next, an inquiry notification instruction as to whether or not a person possessing the portable communication terminal having the registered telephone number exists near the user is given by a predetermined button (for example, “service number” + “service number”) on the portable communication terminal X of the user. (SX3).

Upon receiving the inquiry notification instruction, the communication carrier Y
Whether the registered telephone number is located in the same radio base station (same cell) or in the same radio base station because it is located in the same radio base station according to the same area of another communication carrier that performs interconnection Is determined, and a response is sent to the user's mobile communication terminal (SY3).

The mobile communication terminal X of the user who received the reply
As shown in FIG. 4, the presence or absence of a portable communication terminal having a registered telephone number in the same area is indicated by indicating “○, ×” before the registered telephone number as “* a telephone number nearby”.

Next, an instruction to start an ad-hoc notification notifying that the mobile communication terminal of the registered telephone number has come near or has gone away is given by a predetermined button (for example, “(service No.) + (Any time notification start number) ").
X4).

[0048] The communication carrier Y that has received the notification from time to time,
The notification is registered at any time (SY4), and the registered telephone number goes in and out of the same base station (within the same radio base station (same cell) or in a radio base station according to the same area of another communication carrier that performs interconnection). That is, when the position information of the registered telephone number is changed, the user's mobile communication terminal X
(SY5).

The mobile communication terminal of the user who has received the response makes a ringing tone at the same time as the incoming mail, as shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. For example, the telephone number and name are displayed and notified to the mobile communication terminal X by using a built-in telephone directory function or the like.

If the notification is not required at any time, the user informs the communication carrier Y of the suspension of the notification at any time to the mobile communication terminal X.
(SX5), and the communication carrier cancels the information related to the notification at any time (SY6).

It is not necessary to carry out the entire flow of SX1 to SY6. For example, if it is the first use, SX1
Is required because SX2 is a new registration, but SX2 is not essential, and SX3 or SX4 can be used simultaneously with one operation.
The processing of X1 may be performed.

For the second and subsequent uses, SX2 is performed first, and the registration is corrected (deletion of registration, change of registration,
Correction, etc.), by the same processing as SX1, the processing SY1 of the communication carrier is also performed correspondingly, and then SX3 or SX4 is performed. Be composed.

In the above description, the registered location of the registered telephone number in the communication carrier can be any location as long as it is a predetermined location in the network, for example, the location inside the exchange or the location information of the portable communication terminal is stored. Even within a predetermined place, it may be a place that can be interconnected with a place that is provided separately for exclusive use and stores the location information of the mobile communication terminal, and it is not essential that the registration be performed collectively and centrally. Good.

Here, a description will be added with a specific example of a case where the present invention exerts its power.

As a specific example 1, when a salesperson is to be visited by a nearby person at the place of work, the telephone number is not used as soon as possible and the contact person is contacted by using an inquiry notification in advance. It is possible to contact after narrowing down.

As a specific example 2, when searching for a criminal possessing a portable communication terminal, if the phone number of the portable communication terminal possessed by the criminal is known, an inquiry notice is given to know whether or not the criminal is in the vicinity of the investigator. Will work effectively, and the notification will work effectively from time to time to know if you have approached or moved away from the investigator.

As a specific example 3, when transmitting an advertisement or a notification to a nearby customer, the inquiry notification and the occasional notification both function effectively. In particular, real-time advertisements and announcements are particularly effective.

As a specific example 4, a wife waiting for her husband to return at home knows that her husband has come home, registers the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal carried by her husband, and approaches at any time by notification. You will know that.

The portable communication terminal according to the present invention is a general term for a portable telephone, a PHS, a portable information communication terminal, a mobile telephone and the like, and may be any terminal having the above-mentioned functional configuration. In addition, although the target to check whether or not the user exists in the vicinity must be a mobile communication terminal, the user does not necessarily need to use the mobile communication terminal, and may be a fixed telephone. It is needless to say that the landline requires a corresponding change.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above.
The present invention can be implemented with appropriate modifications within a range that achieves the object of the present invention and exhibits the following effects.

[0061]

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily know that a specific person is present in the vicinity of one's own, and also to know that a specific person is moving in and out of the same area as the one in which he is. Thus, various and various services can be provided, and the effect is particularly great if the number of registered telephone numbers is large.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method example 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method example 2 which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the same area in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C1, C2, C'1 ... cell c1, c2, c'1 ... base station Y ... carrier P, Q, R, X ... portable communication terminal

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A third-party mobile communication system in which a user registers a telephone number at the request of a user by using location information of a mobile communication terminal set and registered according to a predetermined procedure in a network of a communication carrier. A mobile communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method, comprising: determining whether a terminal is in the same area as a cell in which a user currently exists; and responding to the user. 2. A third-party mobile communication system in which a user registers a telephone number at the request of a user by using location information of a mobile communication terminal set and registered according to a predetermined procedure in a network of a communication carrier. A mobile communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method, wherein a terminal replies to a user when the terminal enters or exits the same area as a cell in which the user currently exists. 3. The telecommunications carrier exchanges location information and necessary information between the telecommunications carriers when the telecommunications carriers with which the user and the third party have contracted for communication are different, The mobile communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. The request is made after the user has registered any one of new registration, cancellation, and change of a registered telephone number from a mobile communication terminal currently in possession to a communication carrier. The mobile communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method according to claim 1, 2, or 3. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said request is made by registering said telephone number when actually making the request. 6. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 4, wherein the request is made without re-registering the telephone number when using the telephone number registration made at the time of the previous request. Neighbor presence notification method. 7. The request according to claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein the request is made after confirming a registered telephone number registered at a predetermined place in the network by the telephone number registration. Mobile communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method. 8. The portable communication terminal having received the reply displays the contents of the reply with the name of the third party and informs the user using the telephone directory function built in the portable communication terminal. 9. The method of claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7.
3. The method for notifying the nearby presence of a mobile communication terminal according to claim 1. 9. The telephone number registration / request is performed by using a telephone directory function built in the portable communication terminal. Or the mobile communication terminal neighborhood presence notification method according to 8.